LIFT OFF FROM THE CITY ON A SPACE CRUISER

+ Click to Enlarge GETTING OUT THERE: The Triumph Rocket III Touring is intended for savouring the long road like a bottle of fine wine. Images: Dave Abrahams

March 30, 2009
By Dave Abrahams

It wasn't until I'd finished performance testing, taken all the pictures I needed and recorded accurate fuel consumption figures that I began to Get It.

I took advantage of a quiet afternoon in the office to play hooky and went out on the Triumph Rocket III Touring, well away from our usual test route, not measuring or comparing, chasing neither deadlines nor the light – just riding, with nowhere specific to go and all afternoon to get there.

I couldn't get the visor of my helmet to stay open due to the vortex behind the Triumph's barn-door screen (all big tourers do that to me, apparently because of my long spine) so I pulled into a truck stop – where the 358kg Rocket felt right at home – wrapped my visor in toilet paper and stored it in one of the bike's 39-litre panniers.

And as the Triumph and I went on through that long, lazy afternoon past the vineyards, wheatfields and wide open spaces north of Cape Town my cruising speed dropped from 145km/h - which is where the 2294cc three-cylinder lump runs smoothest – right down to about 115.

Smell became as important as sight and sound – overripe grapes as I passed a vineyard, a faint pungent whiff of buchu from a patch of fynbos, a much stronger perfume from a dairy farm and once even the unmistakable aroma of marijuana smoke from a shady patch of trees near a farm cottage.

I slumped in the deeply padded broad, flat saddle and did more than look – I saw, for the first time in months, where I was going and how special was the journey itself. Even a convertible cannot immerse you in the world you traverse the way a motorcycle does - and that's why many people ride.

It was a long, long ride - I just couldn't make myself turn back - and I stopped for fuel in a couple of really out-of-the way places where the Triumph attracted a lot of attention, all of it friendly.

To my surprise, laid-back cruising returned much the same fuel consumption as full-tilt performance testing – about nine litres/100km - which, I suppose is what you get for riding a 2.3-litre motorcycle, no matter how gently. But the bike stayed comfortable all day, ready to go on as long as I was.

OK, it's no magic carpet: rear suspension travel is short and the ride becomes very harsh on a poor surface as the old-fashioned dual shocks lose their authority over the seriously hefty final-drive casing.

DETUNED ENGINE

The front end copes well with bumps but suffers on long, fast sweeps where a mild but persistent wallow sets in at more than 140km/h, eventually translating into a barely discernable headshake on top-end test runs (OK, Cyril, you did ask: a true 189, with 202 on the clock).

But that, as they say, is not where this bike is at. The engine has been detuned by 25kW (down from to 104 to 79) and to 209Nm at only 2025rpm – it produces more torque at idle than most litre-class sports bikes at full chat!

It's difficult to quantify without a rev-counter but also unnecessary; the Rocket III Touring pulls with understated but muscular authority from just above idle, providing effortless (and unexpectedly rapid) acceleration without even raising its voice above a good-natured rumble and badly spooking a couple of car drivers in the evening traffic who had absolutely no idea where this humungous two-wheeler had come from.

Oh yes, I rode it to work - it was my daily transport for the week that I had it - and it was no worse in traffic than you'd expect from something that's wider across the footpegs than most bikes are across the mirrors.

SAVOUR THE LONG ROAD

It steers well down to walking pace with good straight-line stability but its sheer bulk is a limiting factor and you need to pick your gaps with more than usual care.

But all that, you need to understand, is a means to an end: Triumph's Rocket III Touring is intended for getting Out There, preferably for longer than just an afternoon at a time, and savouring the long road like a bottle of fine wine.

It's the civilised man's cruiser – just what you'd expect from an English motorcycle company.

Price: R194 500.

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE
Cylinders: Three.
Capacity: 2294cc.
Bore x stroke: 101.6 x 94.3mm.
Compression ratio: 8.7:1.
Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder.
Power: 79kW at 5400rpm.
Torque: 209Nm at 2025.
Induction:Keihin multipoint sequential electronic fuel-injection with three dual-butterfly throttle bodies and progressive linkage on primary butterflies.
Ignition: Digital inductive via electronic engine management system.
Starting: Electric.
TRANSMISSION
Clutch: Cable-operated multiplate wet clutch.
Transmission: Five-speed constant-mesh gearbox with final drive by shaft.
SUSPENSION
Front: Kayaba 43mm conventional cartridge forks with fully shrouded stanchions.
Rear: Dual hydraulic shock absorbers adjustable for preload.
BRAKES
Front: Dual 320mm floating discs with Nissin four-pot opposed-piston callipers.
Rear: 316mm disc with Brembo twin-piston floating calliper.
TYRES
Front: 150/80 - 16 tubeless.
Rear: 180/70 - 16 tubeless.
DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT
Wheelbase: 1708mm.
Seat height: 736mm.
Dry weight: 358kg.
FUEL TANK/CONSUMPTION
22.3 litres, 9.47 litres/100km (measured).
TOP SPEED
189km/h (true)
MANUFACTURER SUPPORT
Two years unlimited distance warranty.
SERVICE INTERVALS
5000km.
PRICE
R194 500.
RIVALS
R136 500 – Suzuki Boulevard C109R
R174 621- Yamaha XV1900 Raider S
R194 500 – BMW K1200LT
R279 000 – Harley-Davidson Road King